1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to musical drums, and more pairticulairly to an improvement of a type of drum employing a device that enables the drummer to simultaneously play the instrument while altering the tones and pitches of the drum sounds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Musical drums have a rich and varied history. Drums have been used throughout time for communication and, of course, to produce musical sounds. The shell portion of the drum comes in all shapes and sizes and has been fashioned from a variety of materials, including wood, fibrous material, metal and the like. Drumheads are made from animal skins or a synthetic substitute.
The sounds that drums produce will vary depending on a number of factors, including, without limitation, the size of the drum, the material composition of the shell, the material composition of the drumhead and the tautness of the head. All these factors can have a substantial affect on the tones and pitches of the sounds that the drums produce. However, the one thing that all of these factors generally have in common is the predetermined influence that they each have on the characteristics of the drum sounds. Once in place, the effect of any of these factors tend not to vary. Thus, a shell made of a certain kind of material will affect the tone or pitch produced by the drum due to the unique characteristics of that particular material. As long as that particular material composition remains intact, i.e., does not decay for any reason, or does not contain a defect, the contribution that the material makes to the drum sound will remain relatively constant. The same is true of the drumhead material, which also embodies its own unique characteristics. As long as the drumhead material remains relatively intact and the head maintained at a constant tautness, the effect that the drumhead has on the drum sounds will also remain constant.
The tones and pitches of the drum sounds are affected by tuning. The drumhead can be tuned simply by adjusting the lug nuts that are connected to the counterhoop. The tightening of the lug nuts pulls the drumhead more taut. The tautness of the head affects the sound. Heads that do not require constant adjustment or tightening are generally referred to as "pre-tuned" heads. It is important to note that in both cases, the tautness of the drumhead is not adjusted during the actual playing of the instrument.
The Talking Drum is an instrument that employs a device that, unlike most other kinds of drums, enables the alteration of the tones and pitches of the drum sounds, most importantly, even as the drum is being played. The result of the undulating sounds is that the drum appears to be "talking" in its own special language.
Drums of this type have a unique appearance. They generally have a shape similar to an hourglass configuration and include counterhoops at each end with the means to thread or engage in some other manner cord, string or rope from one counterhoop to the other in a series of strands in a substantial parallel relation. The cord strands are spaced apart from the shell and arranged in a generally equidistant fashion around the shell wall. Most Talking Drums also include a shoulder strap to allow one hand to strike the drumhead while the other hand remains free to grab and squeeze or depress one or more cord strands in order to manipulate the tones and pitches of the sounds produced by the drum.
In the prior art, the Talking Drum has presented problems whenever the need arises to remove and replace a worn, defective or broken cord strand. The process of removing the strands and replacing them is oftentimes extremely difficult and time consuming. For example, one type of Talking Drum might include a counterhoop covered with an animal skin or synthetic counterpart containing holes through which the cord strands are threaded. Another type of Talking Drum includes a series of cord strands wrapped around the counterhoop and tied off individually in a fancy looking knot, some similar in appearance to two half hitches. Various other knots are tied in the cord strands all around the exterior surface of the drum shell. In both examples, removing and re-installing the replacement cord strands is a long and arduous task.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide the Talking Drum with the means to quickly and easily replace the cord strands strung between the counterhoops.